Scott Thill

Jack White Loves Detroit. So Why Did He Move?

Since going supernova, The White Stripes has helped return Detroit to its rightful status as Rock City, an honor earned upon the birth of the Stooges and MC5, as well as a famous 1976 song from KISS. But with Jack White’s recent move to another fabled music city called Nashville, Detroit’s citizenry has been left […]
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Stripes_patrickpantanoSince going supernova, The White Stripes has helped return Detroit to its rightful status as Rock City, an honor earned upon the birth of the Stooges and MC5, as well as a famous 1976 song from KISS. But with Jack White's recent move to another fabled music city called Nashville, Detroit's citizenry has been left to wither with concern and worry.

He doesn't like us anymore, they cried, he just doesn't like us.

Well, maybe they didn't all say that, but they've still been worried about it. Which is why Jack White recently penned a love poem for his hometown called "Courageous Dream's Concern" and exclusively published it in the Detroit Free Press, hoping to soothe the burn.

"The following poem is the Detroit from my mind," White explained in its introduction. "The Detroit that is inmy heart. The home that encapsulates and envelops those who are trulyblessed with the experience of living within its boundaries."

this audio or video is no longer availableThe poem itself is a romantic paean that often lapses into rhyming couplets. In it, White shares everything from personal memories of riding trains, canoeing and drinking root beer to broader analysis of Detroit's industry. But even though the city's economy is getting hammered by the housing crisis, White ends on a positive note as he settles in Nashville:

Detroit, you hold what one's been seeking,
Holding off the coward-armies weakling,
Always rising from the ashes
not returning to the earth.

Long live Rock City.

Photo: Patrick Pantano, WhiteStripes.com

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